The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systems, and more particularly to a system and method for redundancy in a telecommunications system.
Telecommunications systems are used to provide telecommunications services between two or more user interfaces. User interfaces may include telephone handsets, facsimile machines, computers, and other equipment, and may be connected to the switching system by fixed land-based conductors or wireless services. Telecommunications services are provided by establishing a telecommunications channel between two user interfaces, such that encoded analog or digital data may be transmitted between the user interfaces until a state of completion is reached.
Telecommunications services are typically provided by either a wireline service system or a wireless service system. These systems must provide an acceptable level of reliability for users. Although many systems and methods are used to provide reliability, these systems and methods typically require installing twice as many telecommunications systems components than are necessary to provide service. These redundancy systems and methods result in a large amount of inactive or standby equipment.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a system and method for redundancy in a telecommunications system that reduces or eliminates the problems associated with providing redundancy in telecommunications systems.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method for providing redundancy in a telecommunications system are provided that substantially eliminate or reduce disadvantages and problems associated with previously developed systems and methods for providing redundancy in telecommunications systems.
One aspect of the present invention is a redundancy system for a telecommunications system. The redundancy system includes one or more resources, such as circuit cards containing circuits that process data for telecommunications channels. A controller bus is used to connect a controller to the resources. Another controller bus is also used to connect another controller to the resources. The resources are each coupled to the controller bus and the other controller bus, such that a change in control between the controller and the other controller may be accomplished by transferring data for the resources from the controller bus to the other controller bus.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a redundancy system for a telecommunications system that includes a spare bus. The redundancy system also includes one or more active resources, such as active circuit cards. Each active resource is connected to the spare bus. One or more spare resources are also coupled to the spare bus. Any of the active resources may be replaced by any one of the spare resources by using the spare bus to transfer data.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for providing redundancy in a telecommunications system. The method includes receiving data that indicates that a resource has failed. A spare resource is activated, and the spare resource is then configured to match the configuration of the failed resource. A spare bus is used to transfer data to and from the spare resource.
The present invention provides many important technical advantages. One important technical advantage of the present invention is a system that provides redundancy without requiring all of the system resources to be duplicated. The redundancy system of the present invention allows high levels of system reliability to be achieved without requiring a large number of standby components.
Another important technical advantage of the present invention is a method for providing redundancy that allows failed components and resources to be quickly replaced without significantly impacting the performance of the system. The method of the present invention minimizes the number of components that must be swapped but in a system in the event of a component failure, thus providing high levels of reliability without a large number of duplicate components.